the life and times of a girl and her dog in Sacramento

I Could Never Have Predicted This

November 3, 2009

Sometimes being a rock star is tough.

Last Wednesday we’re playing a set at Leadbetters from 9:30pm to 1:30am. Yes, on a school night. Yes, I get tired.

Approximately 1:22am a group of 20-somethings walks through the doors. We decide to extend the set by a few songs in the hopes of increasing our tips. One guy grabs our play list and starts exclaiming over the number of Greatful Dead songs we cover.

“Dude, you guys do more Dead than any band I’ve seen recently. That’s awesome. ‘Cause, you know, you got to keep the music alive.”

Side Note: I was never a big fan of Dead music as a kid. I worked at the Baskin Robbins in Blacksburg, Virginia. When the Dead came to town, the deadheads would swarm the ice cream store smelling of patchouli and acting like they were high. Which they probably were. I was not amused. So it is slightly amusing to me now that I probably know more words to Dead songs than most of my high school graduating class (many of which were deadheads in training). What can I say? Life is funny.

Side Note B: I would have to say that I preferred the deadheads to my other perennial customer: the scary flasher guy who would sit in a plastic chair directly in my line of sight, not order anything, but make sure that I got an eyeful. Very very creepy for 15 year old me.

Back to our story.

So this kid, who was probably born in the late 1980s, gets all excited and says to us, “This is so great. I need to get you guys a tip.” And then he leaves the bar.

Twenty minutes later he’s back. He requests a few more songs and we end with Box of Rain. Because of course that is a traditional song with which the Dead would end a show (Like I know that. Not.).

As we’re packing up, the guy says “I put your tip in the jar. It’s the balled up five.” And I’m thinking great! A five! That’s an extra $2.50 in my pocket!

Because trust me, being a rock star is not especially lucrative. Thank goodness I love my day job.

Well let me tell you there was a little something extra in that balled up five.

Some organic material.

Oh my stars!

And too, it did smell a little like oregano. So I get the joke now.

Needless to say, that little extra did not make it home with us. And I guess it was really thoughtful of that guy to share his stash with us, but really? I would have preferred the money.

In college I worked at a pizza place that was famous for catering to the “hippie” crowd. The Grateful Dead played on the speaker system ALL THE TIME!!! I’m pretty sure I could sing the words to every Dead song out there. I feel your pain. :)

When I was visiting a friend of mine in Portland, I was taken with this Jasmine Pearls tea we had and I bought some to take home. Then I thought, “Hmmm…this stuff might delay me a bit in the security screening,” due to its shape, hue, organic nature, and being in an unmarked bag and all, so I left it at my friend’s. She sent me a nice, big tin of it for my birthday, so that worked out alright.